Figuring Out the Stuff Between the Beginning and the End

Life in Lifeless Things

I’ve never experienced anything that can be considered paranormal. In fact, I really don’t believe in ghosts. That’s not to say I don’t believe that there are spirits around us, but that’s really a much deeper topic for a much different time. While I haven’t experienced anything paranormal, I have been witness to some weird things. These are things that probably have logical explanations, but they’re beyond my expertise or comprehension.

I recently read Stephen King’s Christine. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s about a car that becomes possessed by the spirit of its deceased previous owner. The car drives itself around and magically repairs its own damage. What should be an inanimate object becomes quite animated. Maybe the book got to me, but the idea kind of freaks me out.

For months, I’ve been experiencing a minor problem with Fiona. Fiona is what I call my car. It’s not a creepy Christine kind of thing. Everyone names their cars. Right? Guys? Back me up on this… Anyway, more often than not, I listen to my iPod when I’m driving. Some people find that to be a bit old-fashioned, but at least I’m not listening to CDs. Anyway, I have my music maker plugged into the auxiliary outlet in the console so I can miraculously listen to the sounds of the 80s pumping through my speakers.

But sometimes that glorious music is interrupted. The iPod keeps playing, but the stereo it’s plugged into shuts off. Sometimes it switches to the radio on its own. I find this very disturbing.

When it first happened, I assumed I had hit a bump in the road and somehow shook loose the cord connecting the mp3 player to the car. As it continued happening, I thought there could be a short in the wiring somewhere. Not that I know anything about such things. Recently, it’s been happening while I drive on smooth roads. No bumps, no potholes, but suddenly the iPod switches to FM radio or shuts off entirely. Maybe Fiona doesn’t like certain songs.

On a related note, I’m not a fan of book bags or lunch boxes that light up. I’m pretty sure these things are supposed to be activated by pushing a button or motion of some kind. But I’ll often see a kid’s book bag hanging in the back of the classroom, completely undisturbed, with lights that start flashing. Paranormal activity or unexplained electronic malfunction?

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2 thoughts on “Life in Lifeless Things”

I will turn my car’s radio off, but it intermittently comes back on- especially disturbing depending on the station it’s been left on. (It’s ranged sermons to demonic-sounding radio hosts…) And until you’ve had a low-battery-malfunctioning motion-required kid’s toy come on in the middle of the night, you don’t know just how freaky that can be.